The Portland Trail Blazers are a resurging franchise, with the All-Star level play of their veteran Damian Lillard, rising talents in Anfernee Simons and Shadeon Sharpe, and the number 3 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. Of course, at the start of the 2023-2024 season, the Blazers may not still have the services of Damian Lillard but barring a complete fleece of a trade, they should have a franchise that is appealing to other young stars to come to and build their legacy.
If there’s one thing the Blazers are lacking at this moment, it’s a big man who is a force on the defensive end. Their starting center is Jusuf Nurkic who isn’t exactly known for his defense. They have a great defensive-minded power forward in Jerami Grant, but most of their players tend to cater toward the scoring and playmaking aspect of the game. Portland has to target a big man who isn’t afraid to get rough on the other end of the court and can act as an anchor for the whole team.
Will the Portland Trail Blazers involve Damian Lillard in a trade for Deandre Ayton?
To be honest, Deandre Ayton is not the first name that comes to mind when you think of the words, defensive big man. Especially not after his performance in the 2023 Western Conference Semifinals where he was served up on a platter by two-time MVP Nikola Jokic. Ayton was so fed up that there are plays where you can clearly see him just flat-out refusing to play defense against the Serbian beast. Nonetheless, Ayton is a promising young talent, being only 24 years old with much room to mature.
The Trailblazers have shown interest in Deandre Ayton, per @JakeLFischer
(h/t @RealGM ) pic.twitter.com/rjDcPyAcMg
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) June 10, 2023
Prospective trades could have the Blazers giving up Anfernee Simons, the third overall pick, or even Damian Lillard. Lillard has made it quite clear to the Portland franchise that his time here is up, and he wants to be traded. The only thing to note here is that Phoenix is not on Lillard’s preferred list of destinations but as we know, taking the example of the Kyrie trade, the final decision rests with the front office.
The only caveat to this whole probable trade is, how much the Suns are willing to give up to get Damian Lillard. At this point in time, despite Ayton’s age Lillard still holds more trade value than him. Although, the fit is undeniable for the Suns. Having just waved Chris Paul the Suns are in need of a point guard that can facilitate to Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. Although shooting is what Lillard is known for he is actually an underrated passer averaging almost 8 assists a game.
However, in the end, this scenario seems unlikely due to the sheer amount of assets Phoenix would have to give up, to become the ultimate win-now team considering that their only young player left is Devin Booker.